After Aang
by Ninja Swords
Summary: Aang's time has passed and there is a new Avatar. The Avatar cycle has gone though to the Fire Nation. Yuri Must go though his life as the Avatar even though many doubt him.
1. Chapter 1

**After Aang Chapter: 1**

_**Yuri **_

My dad is very persistence. I sit still listening to him go on and on about the history of our culture. I know he what's me to become a great bender just like he was, but it just seems like I can't. He finally lets me go, and I get going to the Academy. It's my first day. I'm really nervous but excited at the same time. A bunch of kids from my school are there even the hot shoot of the whole school. He is the smartest, strongest and super popular, and he is with me. In the same class in the Academy as me. Of course just my luck. I can see it know the Master will be comparing me to him to Aiko.

I'm right. It has never been harder to try and zone out "Aiko you are amazing. You will become the greatest Bender." And the worst part. He try's giving my ways to do my bending. I will bend my way! I just need to calm down. Focus.

Why is it that you need to be smart, strong and a passionate person to be popular? Why can't someone like me be popular? Yeah so I'm not the smartest, I'm a shy person but I've been told I'm a great person…..

"Yuri, watch how Aiko does it. How he uses his force to create power." As I am told. I just don't like to think that way. Fire is not an element of force. Fire is alive in its own way. As I breathe I give more life to the fire. It does not come from punching the air as hard as possible, it comes from you guiding it, and feeding it air as needed.

Our task for today is to contain the fire we are given for as long as we can. Finally it's my time to show off for once. I receive the fire and I feel its heat. I close my eyes I feel the fire. The fire becomes no longer a ball a heat, but it becomes part of me. I zone out of my soundings for a while. As I come back into realty, many lost their fires. I feel great, I still got my fire. But does Aiko still have his? I look right to the big group of people. Why would Mr. popular not be there. There are too many people to see him directly. Slowly, I stand up and walk over. In the middle there he is. Aiko, standing with a giant blazing fire.

With everyone chanting. "Bigger, Bigger!"

"Stand back. I'm going to give it my all!" Aiko shouts back. My eyes widen in disbelief. His fire i-it is huge he focuses his energy to his fire! He brightens up the room. Closing my eyes I focus on my fire. As I breathe out I put my energy to my fire.

"Yuri that's great!" I hear with a pat on the back. My fire it goes out. I stand still. My fire, he scared me and I lost my focus. I turn around and it was Aiko.

"Man sorry didn't mean to have you lose your fire." He tries to tell me.

"It's alright." I say as I walk away. I didn't distract him! How rude! Next time he will regret it!

The Master starts to tell us about this performance we must do. As all ways it sounds like a performance I will fail.

"This will be a partner performance. You and your partner will be doing one of our nation's fire dances."

"Can I work with Yuri?" I sit up as I hear my name. That voice it was Aiko's! He smiling at me and I look away. Why would he pick me? I'm the weakest in the class. Of course he would pick me, when we perform He will look a thousand times better than me.

"If that is alright with you, Yuri" He says from right be hide me.

"If you really want to, I don't care." I say never looking at him.

"Great! Than it is settled, we will be partners. Come over to my house tomorrow at Noon."

"Sure. I will see you then." I am trying to crack a smile as I say it.

_**The Next Day before Noon**_

Tomorrow at Noon why? We don't have to perform till 2 weeks from now. That's 14 days. I suppose he will what to practice every day till then… I stare at his place. It looks like mine. Maybe a bit nicer. Maybe I should just go home. Why did I say I would work with him? I really don't want to.

As I turn around Aiko shouts "Yuri you made it!"

"Yeah, you said noon didn't you"

"Yes I did, but I don't know why but I thought you might not come." Can this guy read my mind! Creep!

After a tour of his house he takes me to his back yard.

"All right, I think we should do a dance called The Dancing Dragons. My dad tried to teach me it when I was younger." He had a big smile as he told me.

"Sure, if you want." I look at the ground. Why me?


	2. Chapter 2

**After Aang Chapter: 2**

**_Aiko_**

I want to know more about Yuri. He might not be a strong bender but there is something about him. I just hope that maybe I can help him. As we practice he never tells me what he thinks. I hope I can get him to show what he is like on the inside. Even when we were younger, he had this connection with himself that I could not understand. I just want to get to know him. I want to be his friend.

**_Yuri_**

The steeps for the dace are pretty easy. Aiko makes us do it without fire till we are confident with the movements. If anything I would be better if I could use fire. It's already been two days. Well today I'm using fire even if he says just the steeps!

We start out dance but I fire bend this time. It slowed me down and Aiko noticed, and he started bending with me. With a smile on his face we were back in sink. As we came together at the last move, the power he uses it is unbelievable.

"You could have said you wanted to start bending." He said with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I could have."

"Take deeper breathes as you create the fire."

"It's more then something I just create. The fire is already part of me. As I breathe out I release the fire. I feel it's heat and think of as a living thing. I can't just make it bigger or hotter. I need to focus on it as a part of me and slowly feed it." I just look away. I just want to go home.

"Wow that is so true. Fire is a part of me and can't just be forced out. Here follow me."

He leads me inside, to a room with very little light. "This is my Dads meditation room. I've never used it before, but my Dad use to have a flame in his hand as looked very peaceful."

"I think this is something I can teach you. Sit down next to me. Get a fire going. Close your eyes and focus on the fire." I relax and focus on my fire.

"Yuri? Is it working for you? I'm bored." Aiko gave up after 30 minutes, "You look relaxed. Sorry, I'm going to go outside and use my way of practicing." And it was quite again. I guess I'm the only one who can do this.

**_Day 10 of Training _**

Aiko has helped me a bit. I have become more powerful. Aiko isn't as bad as I thought, but he still doesn't understand the way I connect to myself. We work well together though the dance is perfect. In 4 days everyone will be amazed by my bending. My dad will finally see that I know what I am doing.

That night I had a dream. I man came to me and said _"it's not about showing off." _Then it was over.

**_The Day of the Performance _**

I head over to the Academy. I'm getting nervous. I don't want to let Aiko down. When I get there it's not just students and the parents. Fire Saige's there too! Our Master starts to tell us that 15 years ago the last avatar died. I didn't listen to the rest; I already knew that the Saige's were looking for the avatar that would be my age.

Aiko's and I's time was coming up soon.

"Just relax," Aiko told me.

"I know, it's just you and me." I cracked a little smile. We walk up to the front. Aiko does all the talking when I stare at my feet. I put lots of power into my moves, but then I remember my dream. I let the fire become a part of me. Powerful on every breathe.

I did it. And I did it with Aiko. He was not as bad as I thought he would be.


End file.
